Rock Band
by The Petulant Purple Princess
Summary: Koenma sends the Spirit Detective team as foreign exchange students to the United States to spy on a demon suspected of murder. And in order to do that, they need to join the school marching band. Oh, how fun...
1. Prologue

**And here we have another new multi-chapter fic... I really need to stop. With college and all these fanfictions that I've gotten behind on... Ugh. But whatever.**

**Summary: A demon residing in the United States is suspected of murder. Koenma sends the Spirit Detective team as foreign exchange students to spy on him. That means they have to join the marching band... **

**Warnings: There will be mentions of yaoi (HxK). If you don't like it, tough. It's not important to the story, so you can ignore it if you want. Otherwise, don't read it! Also, there are several OC's. They are important to my story, but no one falls madly in love with anyone, which I guess is a good thing.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, but an irritable cat and an old computer. Suing would be a waste of time that could be used actually helping someone in need.  
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It was a dark night, but that didn't prevent the slightly pudgy middle aged man from staying late after school. To the students school was out for the summer, but he still had quite a bit of work to do; he had to clean and sort the instruments, make sure the uniforms were cleaned and put away, order new music for the next year, sort the old music from this last year, and then it would the beginning of a whole new year! And people actually thought being a high school band director was easy?

Outside his knowledge, red eyes gleamed at the man from the shadows of a dimly lit corridor. It had been entirely too easy for the evil creature to sneak inside the school; honestly, there should have been at least one security guard if they were going to use such outdated locks on their doors.

The creature licked its lips and silently slipped through the slightly ajar door. The man didn't even notice its presence until the beast was upon him. He let out a piercing scream, but it was quickly silenced when the thing snapped his neck. No one would have heard him anyway; he was the only one left in the building.

The creature noisily devoured its prey, until not even bones remained. The evil being slowly licked the blood from his lips and gave a gruesome grin. Now all that was left was to wait for the time to strike, and his plan would soon be underway.

**Wow. It seems I've been getting in the habit of making really short introductions for my new fics... Don't worry, not all the chapters are going to be this short. **

**Reviews make me happy. **


	2. Chapter I

**Aw, this one wasn't as popular than I thought it'd be. Oh well. I guess I didn't make it interesting enough in the summary. I promise, it's not as dumb or cliched as it looks. Seriously.**

**If there is any question as to what I own and what I do not own, you can refer back to the first chapter. Thank you and have a nice day.**

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Kurama stared wistfully out the window, as he was wont to do ever since he had mated with Hiei about a month ago. It was the last day of school, and still his teachers insisted on working them to the bell. At least it was something simple; just an exam over everything they had covered that year. In fact, Kurama had already finished it.

In one of the trees outside, the redheaded fox spotted a dark figure with red eyes lounging around and staring at him. Kurama smiled slightly; Hiei was just too cute sometimes. He straightened up a bit when he caught sight of a wooden oar hovering near the branch Hiei was resting on. Botan usually didn't dare bother Hiei, unless there was an emergency. Without changing his expression, Kurama looked up to watch the clock expectantly.

Sure enough, an office aid came requesting Shuichi Minamino only a few minutes later. She seemed overjoyed to be the one to escort the lovely Shuichi.

"Very well then," the presiding teacher sighed. "Be gone with you. Have a nice summer." Kurama nodded, then followed the bubbly freshman into the hall.

They walked side by side, Kurama with his hands in his pockets and the girl sneaking appreciative glances at him. Kurama saw this, but he didn't want to embarrass her, so he kept quiet. When he caught her staring at his behind, he decided to intervene.

"What are you looking at?"

The girl blushed bright red at being caught staring. "Ummm…" She frantically searched her brain for a plausible excuse. "You had a loose thread!" she announced, almost triumphantly.

Kurama raised his eyebrows and twisted around in search of the alleged thread. "I see nothing," he said quietly, but caught the hurt, panicked look in the girl's eyes. "But I'll take your word for it." Relief seemed to wash over the girl. Gods, freshmen were so _emotional_!

When they reached the office, Botan was chatting amicably with the school secretary. She held Hiei by the hand as if he were a young child; he did not look pleased with this arrangement. In fact, he was audibly grinding his teeth.

"…and Shuichi has been such a good role model to his little cousin Hiei," she said to the bored looking woman. Hiei's expression darkened even more at that comment. Kurama smiled sympathetically at the fire demon and softly cleared his throat, grabbing Botan's attention.

"Oh, there you are, dear!" she said in a bright voice. "It's your mother; she's sick again." Kurama sighed. Botan always used that excuse whenever she had to check him out of school. It seemed logical to her, because Shiori had been deathly ill when they'd met. Still, Kurama wished she would come up with something more original. That was the third time that semester she'd come posed as his aunt to check him out, because "Shiori's sick." Someone would eventually catch on, and besides, his mother's immune system wasn't _that_ weak…

When they were about a block away from the school, Kurama spoke. "What is the emergency, Botan?" he asked quietly.

"Someone's been killed," she said solemnly. "A demon by the name of Shuntarou has escaped to the living world. We need you guys, Yusuke, and Kuwabara to travel to America to take this guy out."

0000000000

"You want us to go where?!" Yusuke shouted. He and Kuwabara found themselves whisked away by Botan, along with Hiei and Kurama to Reikai for the umpteenth time as soon as they got out of school. Then they were told that they had to leave Japan for a year. Naturally, Yusuke was pissed.

"How the hell are we supposed to get to the United Freakin' States?" he demanded.

"By plane of course," Koenma replied. "Shuntarou is posing as the new band director at a small town high school somewhere in Texas," he explained. "Normally I wouldn't bother going after him, but he's killed a man, in a particularly gruesome manner. Naturally, I want to keep him away from the students."

"So why are we going as exchange students instead of just kicking his ass like usual?"

"Because…" Koenma looked almost as if he were going to cry. "We don't know anything about this guy! Our spies have never even heard of him until just a few hours ago!" Koenma sniffed a little, then started bawling. "We don't know what his powers are, his motivation, we don't even know how he killed the guy! There wasn't even a body left!"

"If there wasn't a body, how do we know it was Shuntarou that killed this man?" Kurama interjected.

"There was a witness," Koenma sniffled, "but he went mad because of the sight. A janitor had stayed late that night and saw it. All we could get out of him was that a monster attacked.

"You will be leaving in a month. I suggest you use that time to pack and spend time with your families. You won't be seeing them for at least another year."

Yusuke scowled and stormed out the door, Kuwabara following closely behind. Kurama and Hiei stayed.

"What do you two want?" Koenma asked, returning to his paperwork.

"My family, Hiei, and I will be spending the summer in the United States," Kurama answered softly.

"Great!" Koenma exclaimed. "You can meet Yusuke and Kuwabara at the Dallas airport." Kurama and Hiei nodded in acknowledgment and quickly left the office. When they had gone, Koenma let out a little cackle. "And that's two airline tickets I don't have to pay for!"

0000000000

Hiei and Kurama walked side by side down the sidewalk to Kurama's home. Neither of them spoke; they just enjoyed the scenery together. They turned into the driveway and entered the house to be confronted by a rather hectic scene.

Kurama's stepbrother Shuichi ran around excitedly, jumping on the furniture and talking nonstop. Hatanaka listened passively, half-heartedly asking him to sit down while he packed his and Shiori's things. Shiori could be heard in the kitchen, cleaning and getting rid of what would spoil over their extended absence. Hatanaka smiled wearily at his stepson.

"Hello Shuichi and Hiei," he said pleasantly, despite his obvious stress.

The younger Shuichi jumped up and engulfed his older brother in a hug. He had learned long ago that Hiei wasn't fond of hugs (or people for that matter) and left him well alone. "Hi Shuichi!" he shouted.

Kurama winced at the shrillness of the boy's voice, but returned the hug nonetheless. "Hello Shuichi," he smiled. He made a move to go upstairs to his room, but Shuichi held fast, oblivious to his brother's attempts to free himself.

"Shu-kun, let Shuichi go so he and Hiei can pack," Hatanaka ordered. Grinning sheepishly, Shuichi released Kurama. Once freed, he and Hiei raced upstairs.

"I don't think I can put up with him for a month," Hiei commented when they were safe inside Kurama's room.

Kurama calmly walked to his closet and started pulling clothing out. "I think you'll live Hiei," he said with a smile as he laid his clothes on the bed, carefully folding them. "Besides, I'm more anxious about how we're going to tell Mother and Hatanaka that we won't be returning with them."

"We?" Hiei asked with a little smirk. "What makes you think I'll be there with you?"

Kurama looked up and smirked right back. "You know you love Shiori, just as much as I do," he retorted. Hiei responded by giving Kurama the finger, though his joking smirk only got wider. Kurama playfully stuck his tongue out at him and went back to packing.

Bored of just standing in the doorway, Hiei took his usual perch on the window sill. "When were you planning on telling them?"

Kurama smiled inwardly as he stuffed his night clothes in the duffel bag. "How does tonight after dinner sound to you?"

"Hn." Hiei nodded his acceptance and turned to look out the window. Kurama idly wandered around the room after his clothes were packed, grabbing everything he thought he'd need. When he was satisfied, he turned back to Hiei.

"Is there anything you would like for me to pack for you?" he asked as he fetched a spare duffel bag from the closet.

Hiei slowly shook his head. "I need nothing but the clothes on my back and my blade," he answered gruffly.

Kurama frowned. "Hiei, you need at least a few extra outfits. We'll be gone for a year! And I'm sorry, but the authorities won't let you take your sword on the plane. You'll have to leave it in Reikai and get it from Botan when we meet up with the others."

"I refuse to wear ningen clothing," Hiei glared. "I will concede that ningen are paranoid and will bring unnecessary trouble to you and your family if their 'metal detector' devices pick up on my sword, though. The katana can stay in Reikai," Kurama grinned at the small victory, but sighed in exasperation when Hiei finished his sentence, "but there is no way you will get me to wear ningen clothes."

"Hiei, you can't wear the same thing everyday!" Kurama argued. "You'll start to stink." Hiei's expression made his thoughts on _that_ perfectly clear, so Kurama decided to take it up a notch. "And if you smell too bad, I'll be forced to cut you off," he finished with a smirk.

Hiei's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't," he grumbled. "You couldn't take the pressure."

Kurama gave him a deceptively sweet smile. "_Youko _can't take the pressure, but I can. If you don't pick out at least three spare outfits, you don't get sex for a year."

Hiei growled and stomped to the dresser. He grabbed three pairs of Kurama's old jeans and three plain white t-shirts, throwing them at the triumphant fox. "Happy now?" he hissed his displeasure.

"Delighted," Kurama replied, playfully grabbing his rear. He snorted with laughter when Hiei smacked his hand away.

"Stupid obnoxious bastard of a fox," Hiei muttered, just as Shiori was calling them for dinner. They composed themselves and went downstairs, following the alluring scent of food.

To save Shiori the added stress of cooking for five people, four of them male, Hatanaka had ordered three large pizzas. He, Shiori, and Shuichi were already digging in by the time the two demons got down.

"Hey, leave some for us!" Kurama whined when he saw that the first pizza was already gone. He and Hiei rushed to their seats, and Shiori slid the second box in their direction. As soon as Kurama opened it, Hiei snatched five slices. Kurama grabbed the remaining three a little more slowly.

"Is Hiei staying the night?" Hatanaka asked around his mouthful of pizza.

"Yes sir," Kurama replied after swallowing his food. "I've already set up the extra bedding supplies." This of course was a lie. Hiei would either sleep in his tree outside Kurama's window or in the bed with his mate.

Kurama's family knew nothing of his relationship with Hiei. No one but the rest of the Reikai Tantei team did. Kurama didn't want the extra attention at school, and he was unsure of how Shiori would react. Hiei respected his fox's choice, and he kept his possessiveness in check while they were around others.

"Good," Hatanaka nodded his approval. "We only have to make one stop tomorrow morning before we can head on to the airport." Both Shuichis had been given the privilege of inviting a friend along with them on their extended trip. Naturally, Kurama had chosen Hiei, while little Shu-kun had chosen a boy around his age by the name of Kuroji.

Hiei and Kurama shared a look, and they silently agreed that now was as good a time as ever. "Mother," Kurama started tentatively, "Hiei and I will not be returning from America with the rest of you." He recoiled at Shiori's and Hatanaka's shocked and somewhat angry expressions, so Hiei finished for him.

"We're staying as foreign exchange students."

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The sound of fists pounding into flesh, accompanied with the sound of pained grunts floated out of the small but cozy house into the front yard. Inside, Kuwabara Shizuru had her brother Kazuma pinned to the floor and was beating him mercilessly. Kazuma struggled, but because of his honor code he would not hit his older sister.

"You…" Shizuru shouted with each punch, "Are… Not… Going… To… Fucking… America!" She punched him for a few more minutes before tiring out, but she did not remove herself from Kuwabara's prone body. Instead, she fisted her hands in his short hair, pulling slightly. "You're not going," she repeated, fixing him with a nasty glare.

"But Sis, I have to!" Kuwabara protested. "There's a _demon_!" Shizuru's fist tightened, causing Kuwabara to wince. "There's _kids_ involved, Sis!"

Shizuru's expression softened at this, and she lifted herself off of her brother. "Fine! But do me a favor and stay out of trouble, would ya?" She held out a hand to help her brother up, which Kuwabara gratefully took. "And I expect a call at least once a week."

Kuwabara nodded and smiled, gingerly touching his sore cheek. "No problem."

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Big brown eyes watched Yusuke sadly as he sat in uncomfortable silence. He squirmed under Keiko's gaze, and when he finally braved the intensity of that gaze, he was shocked to find his girlfriend nearly in tears.

"Keiko, are you gonna be okay?" Yusuke asked softly. He knew exactly what was bothering Keiko, but he was expecting a more violent reaction.

"Do you really have to go?" Keiko finally asked. Yusuke winced when a silent tear ran down her cheek. Soon a whole torrent of them were flowing down her cheeks, and she had flung herself into Yusuke's arms, sobbing.

"Oh, crap. Keiko, please don't cry," the stunned boy pleaded. "I'll only be gone for a year, and then I'll be back! Promise." This only made Keiko cry harder, clinging desperately to his shirt.

Yusuke hesitantly wrapped his arms around the girl, softly reassuring. This was worse than when she hit him; at least then he knew how to react. When this mission was over, he was seriously going to hurt Binkie Boy.

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**I hated writing that last scene. I'm never doing anything like that again. I have no idea when the next chapter will be. Midterms suck ass. Maybe by next month. I've got other fics I should be working on too.**


	3. Chapter II

**Yeesh. I hate to use the cliche metaphor, but writing this chapter was like pulling teeth. There are probably about a million mistakes, but I'm tired, I have homework, and I feel basically like crap. I'll edit later.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own squat. Go away and leave me in peace.

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Hiei, it turned out, was not a Morning Person. At around five in the morning, Hatanaka pounded on his stepson's bedroom door, yelling at Hiei and Kurama to get up. The fire demon would have reacted violently, had Kurama not thrown one arm around his waist and grabbed Hiei's wrist, which had been reaching for his katana, with the other.

"Relax," he murmured a little drowsily. "He was only coming to wake us up. He's already gone."

Hiei relaxed his muscles, though he still wasn't pleased with being so rudely awoken. After living in the wild of Makai, one got to appreciate a peaceful slumber without the threat of attack. Kurama released him, and they both gracefully rolled out of bed.

"Excuse me," the redhead mumbled as he headed for the door, still only in his boxers, and scratching himself in intimate areas in typical male fashion. Hiei grunted and reached for his shirt from where he'd casually thrown it the previous night, pulling it over his head.

Kurama shut the door firmly behind him, and when Hiei popped his head through the hole, he was greeted by Botan's smiling face. He scowled at her, angry at the invasion of his privacy and a little disturbed at how quietly she had appeared. "Good morning Hiei!" she said brightly. Hiei's scowl deepened.

"I'm here for your sword; can't bring that on a plane you know!" Wordlessly, Hiei handed her the weapon, still scowling at the woman. "Thanks!" Botan grinned. "And don't worry about this. I'll make sure it's safe.

"So anyway… How are you this morning?"

Hiei stared blankly at the ferry girl, not saying anything. When it occurred to Botan that the fire demon wasn't going to give her an answer, she sighed. "Try to teach a guy some manners!" she huffed. "Fine. Tell Kurama I said hi." Botan summoned her oar and took off through the window, just before Kurama reentered the room.

The fox creaked the door open and found his mate sitting on the bed, an odd expression on his face. He blinked, and then went to get dressed.

"Botan," Hiei started conversationally as the fox pulled clothes from his closet, "was just here. She tried to teach me manners."

"Oh?" Kurama raised an amused eyebrow at him while he pulled his pants on. "And how did that go?"

Hiei smirked. "Manners are a human concept." Kurama quickly slipped on a t-shirt, and ran his fingers through his mane of hair before tying it up. "I ignored her."

"I'm sure she appreciated it," the fox said sarcastically. "Come on," he nodded toward the door, grabbing a pair of socks as he went. "Let's go downstairs; if we're lucky Shuichi hasn't gotten into the leftover pizza."

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Unsurprisingly when one thought about it, Shuichi still hadn't emerged from the cave that was his bedroom by the time Hiei and Kurama sat down at the table, a box of leftover pizza sitting in front of them. After Hatanaka inquired after Shuichi's readiness, and finding that neither Hiei nor Kurama had heard a peep from the boy's room, he politely excused himself to go check on him.

"So, how are you two doing this morning?" Shiori asked, watching the two from across the table with a slight smile.

"Tired," Hiei mumbled around his mouthful of cold pizza. Kurama nodded his agreement, and when he thought Hiei wasn't looking, swiped the last slice of pizza.

Hiei glared, but a hyperactive preteen boy intercepted the look, bouncing between to the two demons to get at the pizza.

"Aw!" Shuichi pouted. "You guys ate all the pizza!" He decked Kurama on the shoulder for his transgression, earning him glares from both Hiei and Shiori, and a faked yelp of pain from the fox-turned-human.

"Hey!" Kurama protested. "Mother and Hiei helped!"

Before the boy could retort, Shiori directed his attention away from her eldest by tossing a granola bar in his direction. "Don't hit," she scolded lightly. "If you wanted pizza you should have gotten up sooner." With that and the granola bar, Shuichi was abruptly quelled.

"Hiei, Big-Shuichi, if you're done eating, go upstairs and bring your things out to the car," Shiori ordered. "And while you're at it, could you please go see what's keeping your stepfather? Thank you." Kurama nodded as he followed his mate to obey.

Halfway up the stairs, Hiei and Kurama met up with Hatanaka, who had been gathering everybody's luggage for the trip. Relieved at having a couple of helping hands, the man passed some of the bags he'd been carrying to his stepson and his friend. With all three helping out, the family was soon on the road to pick up Shuichi's friend.

When Kuroji, a light-haired, light-skinned boy Shuichi's age was added to their little group, the seating arrangement had to be adjusted. The car they were driving only had five seats available: the driver and four passengers. There were six of them total. Rearrangements were made, and Hiei ended up with the misfortune of being squashed between two excited preteenagers; Kurama managed to squeeze between the parents on the floor up front. While Hiei didn't much care for Kurama's stepfather (the fire demon claimed that the human smelled funny), he cared even less for hyper teenagers. With a resigned sigh, plus a few threatening glares directed at his neighbors and his mate, he leaned his head back and attempted to get some rest.

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Something was poking Hiei's thighs and his ribs. Figuring Kurama wanted to play, but unwilling to accommodate him, Hiei ignored the prodding. When two high-pitched yells of "Hiei!" sounded in his ears, however, the fire demon's eyes snapped open. Kurama sat cross-legged in front of him giggling, a bottle of Mountain Dew clutched in one fist, a bag of Skittles in the other.

'_Oh hell,_' Hiei thought, glaring at his sugar-high fox.

"We're almost there Hiei," Kurama said, smiling obnoxiously at him. Hiei grunted and turned to look out the window. He could see low flying planes either just taking off or coming in to land. Deciding it would be better to just stay awake; Hiei settled back into his seat and stared out the window.

Thirty minutes later Hatanaka pulled into possibly the farthest parking garage from the terminal. They exited the car and unloaded their luggage from the trunk, the youngest members of the group and Kurama complaining the whole time.

In Hiei's mind, Shuichi and Kuroji were somewhat excused; they were human, and young humans at that. But Kurama, while he may have been stuck in the body of a teenage human, was a full grown demon. It didn't matter that he had been sitting in the same uncomfortable position for a little over two hours; the King of Thieves did _not_ whine about his legs falling asleep!

If Hiei had his way, Kurama would never have Skittles and Mountain Dew together again.

After Shuichi's and Kuroji's complaints were hushed, and Kurama was given a chance to stretch his legs, the group lugged their many bags to the nearest elevator down. Luckily, they did not have to walk the mile or so long distance all the way to the terminal. A shuttle was waiting for them at the ground level of the garage. A half hour later, they were ready to go through security.

Hiei stayed tense, eyeing the security guards suspiciously. Kurama saw this and placed a restraining hand on the fire demon's shoulder, smiling down at him reassuringly. "No one's going to attack you," he said. "Just as long as you don't have any fuses coming out of your shoes…"

Hiei glared at him, and shoved him away. He calmly walked through the metal detector; no alarm went off, and the security's attention was shifted to the next person in line.

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Finally, after what seemed like ages it was time to board the plane. Hiei's immediate reaction to the interior of the craft was wariness. It was small and cramped, and if anything were to go wrong there was no real means of escape. How humans could trust such a contraption, Hiei would probably never figure out.

"Which would you prefer: the window seat or the inside seat?" Kurama asked when they reached the row designated on their boarding passes. "You might have to sit by a human if you choose the inside seat."

"Then I'll sit by the window," the fire demon declared, doing just that. Kurama smiled and seated himself next to his mate as his family took their seats in the row in front of theirs.

More passengers filed onto the plane as the group talked quietly amongst themselves. When the plane was filled to capacity, the attendants began taking tickets. The stress and excitement of the morning finally catching up to them, Hiei and Kurama leaned against each other and allowed themselves to fall into a light sleep.

0000000000

Shuntarou's plan was going perfectly. The humans (stupid, ignorant, entirely too-trusting fools!) had fallen for his false persona, and within just two days of submitting his faked résumé he was already being interviewed.

It was lucky he'd researched human job interviews before he turned in his application to the school; otherwise there would have been problems. A lot of the questions the interviewer, a large, fat idiot who called himself John Burnette, was asking had nothing to do with the position "Bill Brown," Shuntarou's alias, was applying for. Why the hell did his personal goals in life matter, as long as he did his job right?

Finally though, Burnette got to the important part of the conversation. Shuntarou had paid special attention to these questions in his research, as his answers to these questions were what would determine whether he got the job or not.

And if that didn't work, well, he _was_ a mind controller…

"So Mr. Brown. You'll be dealing with a bunch of hyper kids – if you get the job, that is," Burnette added contemptuously. Shuntarou successfully suppressed a sneer. "They won't always act right. How do you deal with misbehaving students?"

"Like you said," Shuntarou answered charmingly, also adding a little bit of his power to his voice, "kids don't always behave properly. You've got to remember that they _are_ just kids, and often times they don't know how to act, or even what they're doing wrong. I find that they respect you more when you treat them with respect, and speak to them like adults when they act up. Explain what they're doing wrong, why it's unacceptable, and help them to correct their behavior, instead of shouting and punishing."

Burnette snorted a little, and scribbled on his clipboard. "And what sort of standard do you hold your students to?" His tone of voice made it very clear that he thought he knew _exactly_ what kind of standard Shuntarou would hold his students to.

Shuntarou imperceptibly furrowed his brows in concentration, and even a little frustration as he gave his answer. Not only was Burnette an idiot, but the man was a stubborn idiot too! "It's difficult to grade a fine arts class like band. Skill levels are different, and it's unfair to judge a student's performance based solely on how well he or she can play his or her instrument. As long as an effort is put in, there should be no problem getting good grades."

"And just how _do_ you gauge a student's effort?"

There was still some hostility in Burnette's voice, Shuntarou noted. He injected more power as he answered. "Class attendance and practice is a must. If a student shows up to neither without explanation, that tells me that that student doesn't care what grade he or she receives, and I will act accordingly. I also require students to keep a practice log. If a student doesn't turn in one, or doesn't record anything in it, I dock points. I'm also available after school, and students will have to come by the band hall to practice at least once a semester."

"Alright," Burnette said calmly. "One last question, and then we can go. How do you deal with angry parents, and how do you keep them informed?"

Shuntarou smiled warmly. He hadn't fully swayed the man into giving him the job, but he'd gotten him to abandon his hostilities. He would get a fair chance with Burnette's superiors, plus the extra coercive control he already had on them.

"Of course, I give the class handouts," he responded, "in the expectation that they will give them to their parents. But naturally, those handouts won't always make it to parents' hands. To avoid conflict and to keep parents informed, I have my own website, where I record class activity, practice dates, and concert dates. That website always explains class policy and other rules."

"Well, that wraps that up," Burnette said, jotting down some things on his clipboard before standing and stretching cramped muscles; they'd been sitting for some time. "The school board will contact you within the week. Good luck Mr. Brown."

Shuntarou smirked as he left the office. Almost there…

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**Well, I finally got around to editing. Cleared up some things, fixed grammar mistakes, and reworded some awkward sentences.**

**Note: I know it sounds kind childish when Shiori refers to Kurama as Big-Shuichi, but I did that for the sake of clarity. I figured it was okay, because my mom's cousin has the same name as me, and she's referred to as Big-Stephanie and me Little-Stephanie at family reunions (even though I'm taller than she is now...).  
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**Thanks to those who reviewed. Some of them made me laugh, and I appreciate your support.**


	4. Chapter III

**Holy cheesecakes, it's been awhile! I am sooo sorry it took so long to update this, but I've been busy. I had to study for finals, then move in back home, and I've been having difficulty readjusting to living at home and finding a summer job. It took me awhile, but I finally found the time to finish this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Do I look like Yosihiro Togashi? This is a nonprofit, just for fun deal, people!  
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Yusuke and Kuwabara raced up the seemingly infinite stairs to Genkai's temple, both boys beginning to lose their breath. Finally, about half-way up, they decided to take a breather. They doubled over, wheezing and coughing until at last Kuwabara was able to speak.

"Urameshi," he panted, "see if you can get a hold of Kurama again."

Wordlessly, Yusuke reached into his back pocket and withdrew a cell phone, which he tossed lightly at Kuwabara. The boy fumbled with it, but eventually dialed the correct number and pressed the device to his ear.

"He still ain't picking up," Kuwabara said as he flipped the phone shut and returned it to its owner.

"Are you sure you didn't just forget to push 'call'?" Yusuke teased.

"Shut up Urameshi!" Kuwabara shrieked. "I know how to use the damn phone!"

"Yeah, yeah." Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Let's just go before the old hag can start bitching at us for being late."

Kuwabara shrugged indifferently and followed his friend when he took off running again.

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When they made it to the top, Yusuke threw himself face-first onto the ground. Kuwabara leaned against a nearby statue, breathing heavily.

"I ain't taking another step," Yusuke mumbled into the dirt.

"Is that so?" a raspy voice asked. Kuwabara tiredly lifted his head and gave Genkai an apologetic look. The old psychic acknowledged him with a slight smile, and leaped from the head of the statue she was perched on. "Get up, you lazy idiot!" she snapped. "You're late."

"By like a minute!" Yusuke protested, rolling over to glare at his teacher.

"Hurry up, dimwit," Genkai ordered, ignoring Yusuke's outburst. "You too, Kuwabara," she added in only a slightly kinder tone.

The boy grunted and half-heartedly shoved himself away from the cool stone. At the same time, Yusuke pushed himself up from the ground, and the two boys followed Genkai inside.

They both breathed happy sighs of relief when they entered the building; Genkai had left the air conditioning on. Botan was already waiting for them.

"What kept you?" Botan asked crossly when they sat down on the mat beside her.

"Heat stroke," Yusuke replied. "So, do you know what's up with Kurama? He ain't answering his phone."

"Yeah," Kuwabara added. "We tried calling him like three times on the way up here!"

"He's probably still on the plane," Botan answered, as if this were obvious. The boys gave her perplexed looks. "Oh! Don't you two pay any attention?!?"

"Not really," Yusuke said.

"Kurama and Hiei are going on vacation in the United States with Kurama's family," Botan explained exasperatedly. "I told you on the phone, remember?"

"Oh yeah…"

"Just… forget it. Let's get started.

"Our mission is not to take Shuntarou out," Botan warned. "Remember that human children _are_ involved, and we don't want any of them hurt. We are spies only."

"You're saying 'we' an awful lot," Yusuke grumbled. "Please tell me you're not going to this school too!"

"Me? Heavens no! I'm to be your host mother."

"Oh," Yusuke replied sheepishly. "When did we decide that?"

"Koenma did. We don't have any available correspondents in that area of the United States, so we had to send someone with you.

"So," Botan continued, "we know that Shuntarou is posing as the new band director, so we'll have to find a way to schedule your classes as close as possible…" Botan stopped talking when both boys started squirming uncomfortably. "What?"

"We can't be in band," Yusuke announced.

"Yeah," Kuwabara agreed. "I don't know about Kurama and the shrimp, but us two don't know music."

Botan sighed. "I'm afraid you don't have a choice in the matter. You'll just have to learn."

Yusuke and Kuwabara gawked. Learning on a spy mission? Preposterous!

When they got over their shock, silly grins spread over their faces. "Hey Urameshi," Kuwabara laughed, "wouldn't it be funny if Shrimpy played the flute?"

"Oh, I dunno," Yusuke snickered, "I think the flute fits _you_ better."

Botan sighed as the two bickered. They really didn't have much to work on, and Kuwabara's and Yusuke's antics were giving her a headache. Rolling her eyes and sighing, Botan stood from her kneeling position and headed to the door, being careful to avoid what had become and all-out fist fight.

She nodded respectfully as she passed Genkai at the door. "Could you please tell them that I've given up and they're just going to have to wing it?" she asked politely.

Genkai smirked. "Can do," she said smugly.

0000000000

"Bye Shuichi!" the preteens chorused.

The first month of summer was over, and it was time for the Hatanakas to return to Japan. Except, of course, for the eldest son Shuichi and his friend Hiei. They were staying in Dallas, on a top secret mission for Spirit World.

Not that the parents knew that.

In fact, "Shuichi" was really Kurama, a silver fox spirit and former thief. Hiei was an apparition as well, though a much more sinister one. He was also a former thief, and Kurama's mate.

"Bye you two," Kurama said tightly. Despite his growing stress level, he returned the hug of his step-brother, who, by strange coincidence, bore the same name as he.

Hatanaka shook his step-son by the hand, then Hiei, though the latter was a bit hesitant. Kurama nudged him sharply with his elbow, and the fire demon reluctantly took the human's hand. "Well, I hope you two have a good time," Hatanaka said, not noticing Hiei's contemptuous look. "You know where to meet your host?"

"Yes sir," Kurama nodded.

"Good. See you next year!"

Hatanaka, Shuichi, and Kuroji, Shuichi's friend he had decided to bring grabbed their bags and boarded the plane. Shiori stayed behind.

"Well, I hope you two have a good school year," she said as she hugged her son. "And don't worry about Kazuya and Shuichi. I won't tell them unless you want me to."

"Thank you Mother," Kurama said with a blush. During their vacation, Shiori discovered his relationship with Hiei. At first, after she'd seen them kiss, she wasn't sure how to react. While it was true that she'd suspected, seeing it with her own eyes was shocking. It didn't help that the three of them could not find time away from Hatanaka and the boys. It wasn't until they made it to Galveston that they could talk it over.

Shiori turned to Hiei expectantly. Without prompting from Kurama, the fire demon allowed his mate's mother to give him a hug goodbye. When she pulled away, Hiei had a bright blush across his nose.

"Bye you two. Be good, okay?"

"Yes Mother," Kurama smiled, waving her off. With one last kiss on the cheek goodbye, Shiori boarded the plane with the rest of her family.

"I suppose we'd better go wait for Yusuke and Kuwabara," Kurama sighed.

"Hn."

The demons found the terminal easily, and sat down wearily to wait; they were about a half-hour early. Kurama reached into his bag for a book to read, as Hiei settled in for a light nap.

Nearly an hour later, a shadow fell over the fox. Kurama slid his eyes upward, and smiled at Kuwabara's tired face. "Did you have a nice flight?" he asked as he reached over to lay a hand on Hiei's shoulder. Hiei snapped his eyes open, alert for coming danger. He quickly relaxed.

"They had to stop in Hawaii for fuel," Kuwabara yawned, but Yusuke interrupted before he could continue.

"You'd think," he said grumpily, "that they'd check _before_ take off that they had enough gas to make it all the way, instead of checking half-way there."

"And then we ran into turbulence over New Mexico," Kuwabara finished.

"Shall we go pick up your luggage then?" Kurama asked, ignoring Yusuke's whining.

"Sure, let's go," Kuwabara said.

They met Botan at the luggage area, and as soon as Yusuke and Kuwabara had found their things they left. Botan had rented a minivan (using Koenma's money) so they wouldn't cause a riot using the ferry girl's flying oar.

"So," Yusuke said. "How did you spend your summer?"

Botan swerved in the hectic Dallas rush hour traffic. In the front seat Kuwabara yelped and clutched the arm rest of his seat. In the back the other three casually rode with it, though they did reach for their seatbelts simultaneously.

"We went sight-seeing," Kurama answered with a shrug of his shoulders. "Shuichi and his friend convinced Mother and Hatanaka to go to Disneyland."

"Was it fun?"

Hiei snorted. "For an organization that claims to be family oriented, they show a lot of things human parents would find inappropriate for their children."

"Like?" Yusuke prompted.

"The castle in the cartoon about the idiotic fish-woman has a remarkable resemblance to an erection."

Yusuke snorted. "You actually watched The Little Mermaid?"

"We had to share a room with Shuichi," Kurama defended, "and he was exploring some of the American television channels."

"Right…"

0000000000

After drilling the demons (mostly Kurama) Yusuke and Kuwabara, tired from their long trip, fell asleep. How they managed to do this in spite of Botan's insane driving and the typical Dallas traffic, Hiei and Kurama weren't entirely sure.

As Botan continued to drive away from the city, the landscape began to change rapidly. The flat, grassy plains became a little more hilly, and there were a good deal more trees than in the Dallas area. Finally, Botan pulled into their American home.

It was a large, two-story ranch house. It was surrounded by green fields where the cattle would graze, and was painted white. The previous owners, Botan explained, were going bankrupt and were forced to sell the land. Koenma had bought it specifically for the Tantei's use. Yusuke and Kuwabara were awestruck; Hiei and Kurama weren't so impressed. They had seen (and stolen from) bigger and much more expensive mansions than this.

Not to say that the house was scant. It was made in the style of the old southern plantation houses, though much smaller. The exterior was white and windowed with a small front porch. The front door opened into a short tiled entry hall. To the right of that was a spacious dining room with a large, crystalline chandelier and a view of the front yard. Across the entry hall were red-carpeted stairs. Yusuke and Kuwabara immediately thundered up the stairs, marveling loudly that a single home could have more than one story, while Hiei, Kurama, and Botan chose to explore downstairs first.

Beyond the entry hall was the living room. It was big and airy, with lovely bronze couches lining the walls adjacent to the dining room and kitchen. In the middle of the room was the coffee table under a black and white patterned rug. Hanging on the farthest wall was a big plasma screen TV. Looking to the right of the living room, Kurama noted the kitchen. It was long, without much space for more than one person, and wrapped around to the dining room.

To the left of the living room was a very short hallway, ending in a small bedroom. The master bedroom was on the left, and a bathroom on the right.

While Botan and the demons explored the general living area downstairs, Yusuke and Kuwabara were upstairs claiming bedrooms. There were three more bedrooms on the second story, all with attached bathrooms. There was even another large bathroom, equipped with a functional Jacuzzi hot tub.

Yusuke dumped his bags on the bed in the room closest to the stairs. Kuwabara humphed and claimed the one next to Yusuke's, absent-mindedly squashing a large cockroach while he was at it. "Botan, you might want to call an exterminator!" he yelled over his shoulder. "This place's got roaches."

"Oh, yes, they're everywhere aren't they?" Botan said pleasantly from behind him. She had finished exploring the downstairs before Hiei and Kurama. "You might want to be careful; I've heard that they fly in this part of Texas." Botan left Kuwabara to unpack his things to explore more of the upstairs. .She gave a delighted shriek when she came upon the bathroom, and something told the boys that she would be using that one often.

"Hiei, Kurama!" Kuwabara heard her shout. "There's one more room up here for you guys! It's bigger than the one downstairs, and it's got a bathroom attached!"

_Really?_ Kuwabara thought. His had one too. And from the small glance he'd seen of it, Yusuke's room had a bathroom as well. Whoever built this house in the first place sure liked bathrooms!

Soon enough, Hiei and Kurama ascended the stairs and found their room at the end of the hall. By that time Kuwabara had most of his things unpacked, except for his clothes. Figuring that they could wait, and realizing that he hadn't seen the rest of the house yet, the orange haired boy headed downstairs. It didn't take him long to explore the entire floor, and when he was done he realized that while it was bigger living space than he was used to, there would be little time alone. And that the house was infested with roaches.

When he voiced these complaints to Botan, she merely shrugged. "It was the best we could get, don't complain. You have your own room, so if it gets to be too much you can hide out there. And I'll go get some roach traps and spray when we go to the store to get groceries." With that last somewhat short statement, Botan shut the door to her room, leaving Kuwabara staring dumbly. Then it occurred to him that she'd said 'we.'


	5. Chapter IV

**I hate this chapter. I really do. It's boring to read, to be honest, and it was boring to write. But it's necessary to get the plot moving along, so whatever. Next chapter we finish the first day of band camp (how fun), and then we get to move on to high school drama, which Hiei is going to hate, just as I did. Muahahaha!**

**Disclaimer: I'm a poor college student with all of fifty dollars to my name. Even if I did own Yu Yu Hakusho, I would have already sold the rights to it in order to get an apartment and not have to live in the freezer box that is campus housing.

* * *

**

At the end of the street there was an old, abandoned house. It had been that way for as long as anyone could remember; even the old grandpas couldn't remember the last time it had been inhabited. Like most abandoned houses in small towns, rumors and legends surrounded it. The place was allegedly haunted. According to the old grandpas, staying overnight in it was once the favorite sport, their eyes crinkling in laughter as they recalled the frights they'd given and received in their teenage years.

Today's generation paid no attention to the old house. They were too busy with their cell phones and internet and shopping to care one whit about an abandoned old house. And it was for that reason that Shuntarou chose that particular house as his hideout.

At the moment, he was leaning back in his stolen armchair, a hideous triumphant grin plastered to his undisguised face. John Burnette had just called. Shuntarou's alias "Bill Brown" had been offered a teaching position at South Meadow High School.

And of course, the evil demon had accepted.

0000000000

It was official. Yusuke and Kuwabara were driving Botan _insane_. She really should have known better than to take the teenagers shopping with her. Shopping and boys just didn't _mix_. What had she been thinking?

Botan stared in amazement as more and more junk was thrown into the cart. Most of what Yusuke and Kuwabara were grabbing off the shelves was junk food. She was going to get fat if this was all she was going to eat for a whole school year!

"Guys," she tried to say over the noise of the two Tantei and the general noisiness of Wal-Mart. They didn't hear her, and continued to load sodas into their cart. "Guys!" Yusuke and Kuwabara still ignored her. "GUYS!!!"

Everyone; Yusuke, Kuwabara, and all the other Wal-Mart patrons froze and stared at the blue-haired woman. Hiei and Kurama edged away from the scene, and Botan's wrath.

"You two are going to kill yourselves eating this crap," she announced, indicating the ten boxes of Twinkies Kuwabara was balancing in his hands. "Go put some of it back."

"But--"

"Put. It. Back. NOW!"

"Yes ma'am," the teenagers squeaked, and scurried to obey.

Botan sighed. Then she froze when she noticed that everyone was staring at her. Hiei and Kurama even stood at the edge of the crowd, fidgeting nervously and pointedly not looking at her. Her face turned blood red, and she lowered her head to hide behind the cart, completely and utterly embarrassed.

When the shopping was finished, Botan had ended up paying three times as much of Koenma's money as she had originally intended. While she had managed to convince (no thanks to Hiei and Kurama) Yusuke and Kuwabara that they couldn't live off of ice cream and chips, there was still a great deal of food in the cart. Not to mention the roach spray the five of them had unanimously deemed necessary, other cleaning supplies that did not come with the house, and other things that Botan wanted to make the house seem more like home.

When they returned to the house, all five of them were exhausted.

Just as Botan had said, the Tantei were up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (in Kurama's case) the next morning, eager to meet their new teachers.

Or maybe not.

"Why's it gotta be so damn early!" Yusuke complained loudly as they crossed the parking lot. He was largely ignored as the group walked past the cars, up the far too elaborate steps for a small town high school, and into the building.

They were greeted by a bubbly blonde-haired teenage Barbie doll. "Hi!" she exclaimed in an overly peppy voice. "You guys must be the exchange students!" she added when she took in their appearance. "You get your own private orientation today! Japanese, right?"

Hiei nodded his affirmative with the others' vocal responses, eyeing the girl suspiciously as they followed her. She had a similar cheery attitude to Botan's, though under the bubbly hyperactivity it seemed superficial. Like there was an ulterior motive to her friendliness.

He'd be watching her.

"Here we are!" the girl announced. They now stood in front of a wooden door, maybe ten meters away from the door they'd entered from. A big shiny plaque read 'Vice Principal' just above it.

'_Was a guide really necessary for that?_' Hiei thought incredulously. '_Brat probably didn't want to deal with anymore freshmen._'

"Mr. Burnette!" the girl called, knocking loudly on the door. "The exchange students are here!"

The door opened to reveal a large balding man with cold blue eyes. He regarded the Tantei coolly, then gestured them inside, giving the girl a curt thank you.

"So you are the exchange students," he said flatly. "I am John Burnette. You will address me as Mr. Burnette or Vice Principal. Before we do anything beyond introductions, it appears we'll have to go over some rules," his eyes shifted among the five of them with distaste, "starting with the dress code. I don't know how it is done where you're from, but frankly I don't care. Here at South Meadow we do not allow our young ladies to dye their hair outrageous colors."

He glared at Botan, who grinned nervously and help up her hands, as if warding the man off. "Oh, no! I'm not a student, I'm their host! I'm just here in case translations are needed," she lied. In fact, Botan was there for the same reason the four boys were there; to learn about the territory.

Mr. Burnette gave a harrumph, his disapproval clearly unabated. "The fact of the matter is, students are not allowed to dye their hair outrageous colors," he reiterated. "Nor," and this time his distaste was directed at Kurama, "are boys allowed to grow their hair longer than that young man's." He pointed rudely at Yusuke. "Before the semester begins, you will cut it."

"May I ask why, sir?" Kurama asked politely, though Hiei was more than positive that the fox spirit longed to teach the man some manners.

"Long hair in males cause gender confusion," Burnette replied curtly, "which not only can, but will lead to homosexuality and other," he snorted contemptuously, "degenerate behaviors."

Kurama and Hiei both stiffened with rage. "I will not," Kurama said calmly, but with venom dripping from every word.

Hiei was a different story. His entire body was shaking with barely suppressed fury, and all the Tantei felt his ki steadily rising. With the exception of Kurama, they anxiously edged away from the fire demon. Despite the fact that the room was getting warmer, Burnette noticed nothing askew.

"You won't," he repeated, his eyes flashing with anger. "Well, young man, I suggest we start our tour at the ISS room, because that's where you're going to be spending a lot of your time. Unless you have a damn good reason for keeping it long!"

"He won't cut it because you're an ignorant prejudiced fool!" Hiei snarled, taking a step forward. Burnette likely would have come back with something nasty, if not for the owner of one of two restraining hands that landed on Hiei's shoulder. The first was Kurama's, the long and slender fingers gripping his mate tightly. The other was large and dark-skinned, and belonged to a burly Hispanic man. He had a severe, bearded face, but his eyes were kindly. At this man's entrance, Mr. Burnette's demeanor subtly changed.

"There is not a problem, is there?" he said in a thick Mexican accent.

"Sir, I was a bit concerned by this young man's hair," Burnette answered in a pathetic, abused tone and indicating Kurama with a nod. "I wouldn't want him to be teased, so I advised he cut it, and he refused. When I asked why, I believe you heard his friend's response."

Hiei rolled his eyes at the vice principal's change in attitude. The stupid bastard couldn't even be consistent. In Makai, he'd seen behavior like that; demons that were cruel to those who were weaker, but became simpering idiots when confronted by someone in a superior class. He'd frequently killed demons like that.

"I see. Perhaps you worded your concern in a way that was offensive, hm?" the man asked, giving Kurama a wink.

A look of outrage crossed the lumpy vice principal's face, but the other man held up a burly hand, silencing Burnett's protest before it even had a chance to be voiced. "I am sure it was not your intention to offend anyone, and that both of these two accept your sincere apology." He looked pointedly at Kurama, who gave a curt nod but showed no other sign of forgiveness, and then at Hiei, who merely crossed his arms and looked away.

"Now that an international crisis has been averted," the new man joked, "the reason I came is to inform you that it is almost time for the assembly, and for reasons I cannot fathom, Señora Bell has changed the line up to you speaking at the starting assembly and I at the ending assembly."

"I see," Burnette said as he rose from his seat behind his desk. "Can I ask you to handle the exchange students, then?"

"Gladly," the Mexican man smiled. He closed the door quietly behind Burnette's bulk after the man had left. "I apologize for him," he said to the Tantei. "He has his uses, but he is not very welcoming or kind toward the students." Hiei snorted; as if it _weren't_ obvious. "I have been nagging the school board to get rid of him, but Spring Meadow ISD is cheap." His joke got nervous grins from Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Botan, but Hiei's scowl remained firmly in place and Kurama stared calmly forward. "But that is Mr. Burnette; I am Mr. Olivara, and I promise I won't bite your head off over every little question. Now are there any questions before we do the tour?"

Yusuke and Kuwabara were unusually quiet. Probably pissed about Burnette and plotting revenge, Hiei thought to himself. _They'd better include me in it._ He followed Olivara and the rest of the Japanese students, falling into step with Kurama effortlessly.

"What did you think?" Kurama asked softly.

"Humph. Burnette's an ass and Olivara's annoying but harmless. I'll be watching him."

"Burnette?"

"Hn."

0000000000

The tour took longer than one would expect, considering the school's small size. Hiei contributed this to the fact that Olivara liked to talk. At every corner, it seemed, the man had to stop and explain the significance of every plaque, every trophy.

To be frank, Hiei didn't give a damn.

So by the time they returned to sign up for classes, Hiei was in a foul mood indeed.

The Tantei completed their proposed schedule forms, and, after adjusting Yusuke's a little so he could take Remedial Algebra, they quickly and gladly left.

0000000000

The next day they were back, once again at an almost obscenely early hour of the morning. Botan dropped them off in the back and, after wishing them good luck on their first day, drove back to the house to relax.

The boys weren't so lucky. As soon as they entered the building they were accosted by the Barbie wannabe from the previous day.

"Oh my gosh! I didn't know you guys were in band!" she squealed, leaping away from the group she had been addressing to stand in front of them, blocking their path. "Come meet the section leaders, and then I'll take you to see Mr. Brown. He's our new band director. Our old one, Mr. Ferguson, went missing a couple months ago, so the school had to hire a new one. Oh, I'm Hannah, by the way, and I'm the drum major."

Without giving any of them the chance to answer, Hannah rudely grabbed Kurama's wrist and dragged him, the other Tantei following, to the group of six.

"Okay, so these are the exchange students for this year," Hannah was telling them, "and all four of them are gonna be in band!" Her false enthusiasm was met with little to no response, but one girl with waist-long black hair draped over one shoulder smirked in admiration of the Japanese boys' appearance, her gaze avoiding Kuwabara's swollen and bruised face from fighting with Yusuke earlier that morning, but did not seem to mind his muscles.

By no means inhibited or intimidated by the other section leaders' lack of excitement, Hannah continued to ramble on. "So, this is Amy," she pointed at a dark-haired girl, wearing black cargo pants and a Metallica t-shirt standing next to a similarly attired platinum blonde. "She's the percussion section leader. And that," Hannah indicated the blonde, "is Helen, who's the trombone section leader."

"You can call me Hel," the girl spoke up. "Please," the earnestness in her voice made it seem as if she were embarrassed by her real name.

The girl who had been eyeing the Tantei sneered. "People who call themselves Hell go to Hell."

"Who said that, your grandma?" Hel retorted. The dark-haired girl sniffed, offended, and flipped her hair around to be draped over her other shoulder.

"That," Hannah continued, ignoring the exchange, "is Sarah." She indicated the long-haired girl, who wiggled her fingers at the Tantei, her irritation with Hel momentarily forgotten. "She plays flute. And these are Joshua, trumpets; Troy, tubas; and Mikey, who's in charge of the baritones."

Having made the introductions (and not letting the section leaders say much more than hi), Hannah dragged them off once again, this time grabbing hold of Hiei.

They found Mr. Brown in his office, with a group of about seven freshmen. "Mr. Brown!" Hannah sang. "I have more students for you!"

"Hannah?" Oh yes, wonderful! Come in, come in!" The disguised demon's eyes fell on each of the four Spirit Detectives, as if analyzing them. They narrowed when they reached Hiei, Shuntarou more than likely suspecting him of being more than human; and when the demon's eyes were laid on Kurama they lingered far longer than the fox and his mate were comfortable. When the redhead shifted nervously, his hand reaching reflexively to his hair, Shuntarou averted his gaze to address all four of them. "Welcome, welcome, don't be shy! We were just introducing ourselves, and then we'll see which instrument suits you best!"

Shuntarou went around the room in a relatively circular pattern, having each of the new students say their names and why they chose band as an elective. The Tantei gave mostly the same answer for the second question, and while Kurama gave his human name Shuichi (since that was what he was enrolled as), he requested he be called Kurama, so the others wouldn't blow their cover by accidentally calling him the wrong name.

Then the new students met with him one at a time, the others shooed out of the office. The Tantei stood apart from the general group, watching the freshmen cautiously.

"So what did you guys think?" Yusuke asked lowly.

"He seemed kinda nice for a demon," Kuwabara commented. "Are you sure we've got the right guy?"

"It was a ploy of course," Kurama answered gently, as Hiei snorted derisively. "He wants something from these students, and he won't get it by acting like a demon."

"There a way he's got freaky mind powers?" Yusuke turned to Hiei.

"I would have to use my Jagan to find out." That idea was immediately discarded, and then it was Kuwabara's turn with Mr. Brown.

0000000000

Kuwabara stood solemnly before Mr. Brown, a rather thin, tiny man with dark hair streaked with silver. He didn't seem very demonic to Kuwabara. The vice principal was more intimidating than this little man.

That is, until Shuntarou looked him straight in the eye.

He hadn't noticed it before, but Mr. Brown was emitting very subtle youki. Now that he could sense it, there was no doubt in Kuwabara's mind; Mr. Brown was Shuntarou. He uneasily took the offered chair, and started trying out instruments.

* * *

**Because I already know I'm going to get reviews saying 'There's no such language as Mexican!' I'm going to tell you that Mexican Spanish is very different from Cuban Spanish or Puerto Rican Spanish or Spanish (Spanish coming from Spain) Spanish, and that's what I meant by 'a thick Mexican accent.' Just like we have American English and British English.**

**If you tell me this chapter doesn't suck as much as I think it does, you will make me very happy.  
**


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